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Flavor Your Life shares the factors that help distinguish various types of olive oil and determine the market price.

Bohemia, NY (PRWEB)June 07, 2013

On June 7, In effort to educate consumers on how to distinguish between different types of olive oil, Flavor Your Life, a European Union supported campaign, shares tips on how to identify various qualities of olive oil.

Flavor Your Life shares these 6 factors that help to determine the quality of olive oil:

Acidity- The amount of acidity in an olive oil helps determine its classification. Oil qualifies as extra virgin if it has an acidity percentage lower than 0.8%. Typically, the lower the acidity in the extra virgin olive oil, the higher the price and quality.

Olive oil maturity- Olives that are harvested before maturation produce a smaller amount of oil and produce more emphasized flavors. These immature olives produce less amounts of oil than mature olives and cost more.

How the olives are harvested: The cost of olive oil increases if the product produced was hand-picked or combed by hand.

Amount of product available: Products will cost more if they come from Protected Designation of Origin, or DOP, sources. Organic olive oil can also increase the cost and quality.

Organoleptic qualities: The taste of the olive oil and judgment of that taste by testers is the most important assessment. Defects or noteworthy qualities can change the price of the oil.

Climate: The climate can greatly affect the growth of quality olives. The time in between harvests can be influenced by climate issues such as frost or drought, which can in turn affect a successful product. Changing climates can also affect a producer’s ability to produce a similar product each year.

Flavor Your Life, a campaign supported by the European Union, Unaprol and the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, is dedicated to providing the latest in industry news and health information about European extra virgin olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil enhances the flavors of your recipes while providing health benefits. Flavor Your Life campaign, the voice of olive oil production quality control, aims to educate consumers so they can make informed decisions when purchasing olive oil.
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